Top-spinning device



J. G. KIAH. 'I'P SPINNING DEVICE.

'Patented Aug. 23,1881. I

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

VJEROME G. KIAH, OF HURON TOWNSHIP, HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

TOP-SPINNING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 245,960, dated August23, 1881.

' Application filed January 5, 1880.

To all whom it may concern v Be it known that I, JEROME G. KIAH, ofHuron township, in the county ofHuron and State of Michigan, haveinvented a new and useful Top-Spinning Device, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to improvements in top-spinning devices in which abifurcated handle is used to hold the top, and acord wound around theshaft of the top is used to impart motion to the same.

The object of my invention is to provide a handle more simple and cheapin construction than those now in use, and one from which the top, as itreceives its impetus, is more easily and with greater certaintydetached. I attain these objects by means of the device illustrated inthe drawings which accompany this specification and form a part of thesame, and in which- Figure l is a side elevation of the handle and top.Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the sameand Fig. 3 a side view of thehandle withv the top in vertical section on the line w av, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

A is the bifurcated handle, which may be made of wood o1' any suitablematerial.

B is the body of the top. The top may be turned from apiece of wood, orit may be made of cast metal, or constructed of any other suitablematerial in any of the known ways, or in any suitable form orconfiguration.

C is the ilange, projection, or guard formed on the shaft or spindle ofthe top, between which and the body of the top the string or cord is tobe wound.

D is the shaft or spindle ofthe top.

E is the cord, which should have la loop on the outer end, and in whichthe finger of the operator can be inserted for greater convenience inwithdrawing the cord when the top is set in motion.

F are notches or grooves, out one in each of the forks ofthe bifurcatedhandle, and in which Jthe shaft of the top rests when it is about to beset in motion. These notches should be of a depth of about half thediameter of the shaft of the top.

The operation of device is as follows: After winding the cord around theshaft of the top, between the body B and the flange O, the handle isplaced in the left hand and the top inserted between the forks of thehandle, with the shaft resting in the notches F, as shown in thedrawings, and retained therein by pressing the left thumb on theperiphery of the topbody B. The outer end of the string is then taken inthe right hand, and the string is then withdrawn with sufficient forceto give the top the desired motion, and the handle removed.

It will be observed that by this construction of handle the top iseasily released therefrom after it is set in motion; and, further, thatthe top can be made in more compact form, and with a much shorter shaftabove the body, than is usual or possible in other forms of handle.

It, moreover, possesses the advantage ot' giving the top greatersteadiness of motion, owing to the fact that the shaft rests in lthenotches or bearings of the handle both above and below the center ofgravity in the top, thus insuring a longer run in proportion to theweight ofthe top and the force employed in setting it in motion.

The construction illustrated in the drawings possesses the furtheradvantage of placing the point of application of power near to thecenter of gravity of the top, which also tends to insure steadiness ot'motion.

l am aware that bifurcated handles for tops have been in use before; butI am not aware that they have been so constructed as to allow one ot'the forks to be placed above and the other below the body of the top, orthat the bearings of the shaft have ever been cut in the edge of theforks, as shown in this case. I am also aware that the cord E is commonas a means of imparting motion to tops. I therefore do not claim any ofthese devices, broadly, as of my invention; but,

Having thus fully described my invention and its inode of operation, Iclaiml. A bifurcated top-handle with the bearings for the shaft of thetop cut in the outer edges of the forks of the handle, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

2. A bifurcated top-handle with the bea-rings adapted and constructed toallow one of KIco the forks of the handle to be applied above andconstructed substantially as and for the purthe other below the body ofthe top, substanpose set forth. tially as and for the purpose specified.In witness whereof I have hereunto sub- 3. A device for the propulsionof tops, conscribed my name in presence of two subscrib- 5 sisting oftief bfllllrczrcleri hzfugletA, Wijh tthe ing,` witnesses.

bearingsF ort e s a to e op su s antiauy as shown. JEROME G. KIAH.

4. The topAhandle A, with the bearings F F, Witnesses: incombinationwith the top having the body FREEMAN CHUTE, 1o B, the flangeC, the shaft D, and the cord E, JOSEPH SAWYER.

